nearly a car fire...

[leeandjude]

last week when i bought my car, it needed a new resistor card for the heater. I went and bought one from a Nissan dealer in sunderland..and got charged top whack for £45.

All week i have had a funny smell in the car, bit like a burning smell. Anyway tonight my heater stoppped working again so i took out the card to have a look...and got a shock. The card has been melting at the edges nearly setting on fire, the holder is a bit melted as well.

no i checked the voltage, its ok. the old card i pulled out only failed as the resistor had gone with no other damage. I am presuming the card was faulty and over heated. Im taking it back tomorrow and i expect a replacement otherwise im kicking off. My wife has to drive the car with the kids and i dont want anything to happen to them.

have a look at the pics and tell me what you think:

 

[Stani1029]

that ones smaller than anyone ive seen, youd be better going to the scrappies and pocketing it for all its worth. just make sure it works before you take it lol

 

[solarice]

Probs be about £5 from a scrappies...but yeah that one looks ######ed. You havent got any water coming in, where the card sits have you?

Cos it deffo shouldnt have died like that.

 

[leeandjude]

no there is no water coming in at all.
good news is they replaced it today for me so i have a heater.
But this time im going to keep an eye on it and if i smell something funny im pulling it out!

I did mention that its smaller but they said they are all that size now?

 

[solarice]

Yeah ive seen the big and the small ones....both seem to be the same except the size.

 

[leeandjude]

ok got the new one last night, so the heater worked fine.

This afternoon its gone again. I cant see any damage on the card at all, even the resistor. Heater only working on 4 again.

Now im stuck. They will not swap for another, dealership says they will have to take my car in to see what the problem is. to be honest i only work part time thanks to a redundancy and i cant afford to pay dealership prices.
Anyone got an idea on what to do if it was their car.

 

[flash22]

its either a switch or motor problem if it keeps burning the resistor card out i would be checking the motor and switch out with a meter and see what resistances you have. is the motor spinning freely ??

 

[frank]

its either a switch or motor problem if it keeps burning the resistor card out i would be checking the motor and switch out with a meter and see what resistances you have. is the motor spinning freely ??

x2 the motor must be drawing too much current eh

 

[98twister]

If it is the blower motor drawing too much current, you would expect the fuse in the dash (or under bonnet) would blow.
It might be worth checking that a larger fuse hasn't been put in.

I have heard of Nissan blower motors failing and popping the fuse on higher speeds.

 

[funky2nite]

sorry guys.. can anyone tell me where's this card located...? cos once I had a feint smell like this but never came on again...and never knew of this card until just right now..

never too late for learning new things

cheers guys!

Ian - Malta

 

[98twister]

Kneel next to the car and look up behind the glovebox.
You will see a 4 way connector with 2 screws either side.

They usually get damp and corrode. Maybe not such a problem in Malta )

 

[leeandjude]

well this last card has not burned like the last one but it looks like the small resistor has gone. is it possible to resolder a new one on or even just put a lump of solder on the card?

 

[98twister]

The 'resistor' is just a lump of solder. If the blower draws too much current, it will heat up and melt breaking the circuit. If you just resolder, it will probably just melt or burn the card out again.

Check the blower motor is running freely.
3 screws, an electrical plug and a small corrugated tube and it will come out.
If it isn't running freely, prise the cap off of the end and drip some odourless oil (I used veg oil on ours 2 years ago) into the bearing and leave it to soak for an hour or two.

If it is running freely, time for a replacement motor.

 

[leeandjude]

thats some cracking advice!
thanks! (Y)

i will do this in the week and let you know what happens

 

[NeX]

go get your money back because that is a joke, i get mine from the scrappy i have so many that i bin them now and again. there is no way that was worth £45

they are putting in a card from an almera or a french micra, the card is not long enough to get decent cooling from the fan.

take it back, get your money back and nip to the scrappy, get as many as you can and test them one by one.

if you keep blowing them, then drop the motor out and check that its ok

 

[leeandjude]

is that right?
i didnt know it had to be cooled by the fan, i thought it was a bit short.
i know for a fact that i wont get my money back. but i will write a complaint in to their head office.
I will try and go to a scrappy today and see if any are there. if not ebay has some on.

 

[98twister]

Have you got the original? The one before the burnt out one.
Normally the tracks next to the solder blob corrode. Scratch either side to reveal clean copper.
Add solder to the clean copper until the 2 sides join.

Definatley worth dropping the blower motor out and checking it is free.
We had a few leaves in ours. Someone recently found a dead mouse.

 

[leeandjude]

well ive took my time but i fixed the card resoldering it back.
so far it has been fine but i have fixed it back next to the proper enclosed place but on the outside. It does not seem to be overheating but im keeping my eye on it.

just shows they made the card too short...robbing stealers! grr